Mounting brackets or blocks for mounting a gripper or workpiece holder or the like to a support structure are well known in the art. The mounting brackets engage a cylindrical portion of the gripper and mount to a cylindrical support rod or arm. Some mounting blocks or the like may attach to a portion of the gripper, such as a rear plate or portion of the gripper. Such grippers or workpiece holders are typically implemented at assembly lines or other industrial applications and connected to support structures along the assembly line or machines.
In order to provide pivotable adjustment of the gripper relative to the bracket, while further providing pivotable or rotational adjustment of the bracket relative to the support structure, mounting brackets have been proposed which provide a cylindrical opening at one end for receiving the gripper therethrough and a second opening at the other end of the bracket. A partial spherical collar may be rotatably received in the second opening and may slidably receive a support rod or post. One known mounting bracket design provides a two piece mounting bracket or plate which is secured together by three fasteners, whereby the two plates define both of the openings therebetween. Accordingly, in order to insert the partial spherical collar into the opening of the bracket and/or in order to adjust the position of the support structure and the gripper with respect to the bracket, at least two, and maybe all three, of the fasteners must be loosened to loosen the clamping forces at both the support structure and the gripper.
Another proposed bracket which provides rotational adjustment with respect to the support post and pivotal adjustment of the gripper with respect to the bracket provides a one piece mounting bracket which defines a pair of openings which are adjustable via a single fastener. However, loosening of the fastener results in loosening of both the gripper and the support post. Also, during assembly of the bracket, the fastener must be substantially loosened and the bracket may have to be pried apart to sufficiently enlarge the opening to receive a swivel member therein for providing adjustable or pivotable attachment of the bracket to a support structure or post.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a mounting member or bracket which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.